Sappi North America Awarded by Minnesota Office of Foreign Direct Investment

Sappi North America, a leading producer and supplier of diversified paper and packaging products, today received an award for its investment in the state of Minnesota from the Minnesota Office of Foreign Direct Investment, under the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). The award highlights the company’s contributions to the economic vitality of local communities, and its commitment to keeping Minnesota a world-leading business destination.

“We are honored and delighted to receive this award from the Governor’s office for our contributions to the great state of Minnesota,” said Mark Gardner, president and CEO of Sappi North America. “Through the investments made under Sappi’s 2020Vision strategy, we’re ensuring that our Cloquet facility will continue to operate at this high standard for many years to come.”

For nearly 120 years, the Cloquet Mill has produced paper and wood pulp on the banks of the St. Louis River. Sappi North America is a subsidiary of Sappi Limited, headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. The company has been managing the Cloquet facility for over 15 years. A world-class facility, the Cloquet Mill has been recognized several times over the years, including for its achievements in safety by reaching over 2 million man hours without a loss time injury this past January.

The Cloquet Mill underwent a $170 million capital investment in 2011 to convert the kraft pulp operations to also produce chemical cellulose used in textile and consumer goods markets. Through this product diversification, along with investments in renewable energy and waste reduction, the mill has stayed profitable and competitive in a challenging market.

“I am very proud of all of my coworkers at the Cloquet Mill. We work hard together to make safety a top priority while we continue to do the things necessary to live up to our vision, which is to be a dynamic world-class operation that secures a sustainable future for our employees, business partners and community,” said Mike Schultz, mill manager, Cloquet Mill, Sappi North America. “Sappi’s continued investments make us a bright spot in this industry and helps ensure we can continue to support our local economy.”

The Cloquet Mill currently employs nearly 700 people. In its commitment to training a knowledgeable workforce, Sappi also partnered with DEED and Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College in 2016 for a Minnesota Job Skills Partnership Grant. Sappi was nominated by APEX, a business development organization based in Duluth, Minn., for this recent award from DEED.

“To receive this recognition from the State of Minnesota is an honor for Sappi and the local economic development partners. It elevates our region’s strength in innovation, and as an attractive location for national and global investment,” stated Brian Hanson, APEX President and CEO.
https://www.sappi.com/sappi-north-america-awarded-minnesota-office-foreign-direct-investment

Related Posts

Fedrigoni acquires some assets of the US-based company Mohawk

The Fedrigoni Group, one of the world's leading manufacturers of special papers, self-adhesive materials, and RFID solutions, announces the acquisition of certain assets of Mohawk Fine Papers, Inc., the company it entered into an industrial partnership with last September 2022 to strengthen the distribution of specialty fine papers in the North American market. The transaction was finalized through a NewCo incorporated by Fedrigoni to acquire Mohawk's assets in a sale process initiated by a financial institution, following a period of significant financial distress that affected the U.S.-based company in the past months. The transaction entirely cleared the new company from existing indebtedness, allowing to preserve the majority of existing jobs, industrial activities and customer relationships. Founded in 1931, Mohawk is a family-owned company that produces some of the best-known specialty papers for designers, brands, and printers and that - like Fedrigoni - has strongly innovated in the field of digital printing and sustainability. The sharing of core values such as solid know-how and a focus on innovation and environmental impact reduction led to the acquisition of this firm, which becomes part of the Fedrigoni Special Papers division and represents an important piece in the group's overseas growth strategy.

BillerudKorsnäs production unit in Karlsborg expected to be back to full production during next week

During the night between September 5th and 6th, there was a fire in one of the buildings at BillerudKorsnäs’ production unit in Karlsborg and the production has been stopped since then. After analysing the impact of the fire, BillerudKorsnäs now expects Karlsborg to be back to full production during the week starting with Monday September 18th. "The most important thing is that no person has been injured in the fire. We have now assessed the impact of the fire and the work with making the unit ready for start of production is ongoing at high intensity. We expect full production to be reached during next week, i.e. the week starting with Monday September 18th. As it is a complex start-up after this type of event, there is some uncertainty about the exact timing", says Per Lindberg, President and CEO of BillerudKorsnäs. Click Read More below for additional detail.

Sappi successfully concludes its acquisition of the speciality paper business of Cham Paper Group Holding AG (CPG)

The transaction includes the acquisition of CPG’s Carmignano and Condino Mills in Italy, its digital imaging business located in Cham, Switzerland as well as all brands and know-how. The main benefits of the acquisition include: Supports Sappi’s diversification strategy and 2020vision to grow in higher margin growth segments; Strengthens Sappi Europe’s specialities and packaging papers footprint and skills; adds 160,000 tons of speciality paper to our capacity; Increases Sappi’s relevance in specialities and packaging papers, opening up new customers and markets to Sappi’s existing products and generating economies of scale and synergies; Gaining greater share-of-wallet with valued brand owners; accelerating innovation and new product development; Improved near-term profitability and serve as platform for organic growth and further acquisitions. Will add €183 million of sales and approximately €20 million of EBITDA before taking into account synergies; Builds on the investments currently underway to increase specialities and packaging papers capacity at our Somerset, Maastricht and Alfeld Mills; Unlocks the growth potential of the CPG speciality paper business. Click Read More below for additional information.
Back To Top
×Close search
Search